


That would be Something

by sassenachwaffles



Series: Waffs: DOA Timeline [3]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, wee bit o' angst, wee bit o' fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 09:52:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16038038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassenachwaffles/pseuds/sassenachwaffles
Summary: Canon Compliant Missing Moment, based off S4 Trailer. Mild Spoilers.





	That would be Something

**Author's Note:**

> Canon Compliant Missing Moment, based off S4 Trailer. Mild Spoilers.

_“If I can make this a good land, my presence here can be felt by Brianna, later. And that would be something.”_

I could feel his arms around my waist, the slight rise and fall of his chest, and his warm breath on the back of my neck as he slept. I had attempted to sleep but had failed at the task.

I seldom tried to dwell on the years Jamie and I were apart. I had shelved that part of my life as we started to build our life on the Ridge, but Jamie’s words echoed loudly in my mind tonight.

I, too, tried not to let my mind wander to Bree for the feeling in my heart would become that dull ache I could mildly ignore with the mundane tasks of life to the physical pain where the only relief would be to clutch her to my chest and press a kiss to her forehead.

Given the circumstances that had been in front of us, we had made the best choices we could. Whatever the outcome of either one of us- Brianna had been the first and foremost priority for both of us.

I couldn’t sit back and think about those years- how they might have been different- how we could have been a family.

I felt Jamie’s hand as he brushed the hair off the side of my face and kissed my cheek.

“Ye havena slept at all, Sassenach.” He pulled me over tighter to his body, resting his head in the crook of my neck. “Do ye wish to talk about it?”

I let out a breath and shifted so that my head rested against his forehead. “Having you here is all I could ask for.”

I could feel his chest inhale and exhale as he released a sigh and rolled so he was on top of me, his blue eyes piercing into mine.

“I am no’ an idiot, Claire.” His breath was hot on my lips and his grasp firm on my waist.

“You surely aren’t,” I pushed a piece of hair off his forehead and cupped his face between my hands, “You’re living, breathing, here with me….”

“And she isna here.” He finished for me, bloody man. “Ye are thinking about what I said earlier, about Bree.”

“Yes.” I admitted, reaching up and kissing him softly.

I heard a Scottish noise of disgruntlement as he rolled over me once more, and sat us both upright, leaning me against his bare chest. I tilted my head up to try and read the lines on his face but could only make the outline of his nose in the dark moonlight.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Instinctively, he pulled me closer to him so I was practically sitting on his lap.

“That’s not quite an answer, Jamie.” I laughed.

“Do ye regret it, Claire?” He asked, barely audible, though the question didn’t make sense to me.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, all of this.” He took one hand from my waist and gestured to our bedroom. “I mean, since ye came back it has been one thing after another. Ian and River Run. Then I bring ye up into the woods and have ye living like we’re on the run again….. It’s no’ the life ye signed up and it’s no’ the life ye deserve….”

I could feel a wave of anger run through me, my toes curling and hands clenching into fists against his body- this wasn’t just his choice or his life. I pursed my lips as he continued to speak.

“Ye deserved a life wi’ our daughter, to see her get married, hold our first grandchild…. I have stripped ye of so many things, Claire and yet ye always chose me. I dinna deserve it.”

He shook his head and tried to turn his face away, but I saw the tear he let escape run down his cheek.

“There was once nothing I wanted more in life than to give ye a family and a home. To watch it grow and prosper, with ye by my side.. I can give ye some of these things now, Claire, but there is always a part of us that is missing and I dinna want ye to regret the choice ye made- me over her.”

 _Damn bloody Scot._ He could reduce me to a puddle myself in just a matter of words.

“Jamie,” I huffed as I turned myself around and straddled him, our faces just inches a part, the tears falling down my own face. “Do you know you are a damn fool?”

He smiled at that and kissed the top of my nose. “I’m no’ a damn fool, Sassenach. I’m just a man.”

“Men are idiots. It’s scientific fact that spans centuries, trust me. I’ve lived in two of them.” I tried for a lighter tone as my eyes scanned his, but I could see the small film that covered my favorite shade of blue. “I didn’t choose you over our child, you do know that right?”

He nodded and I cupped his face firmly between my two capable hands.

“I know it’s hard for you to understand, but Jamie she’s grown- she had a life and friends. People I know and trusted to take care of her. There are people I left behind who love her. She is the one who made the choice because she loves you and loves me enough…… To allow me _this._ ”

I kissed him then: soft, slow, and tender. A kiss filled with promise, reassurance and hope— a kiss that conveyed all those things I could not find the proper words for. I pulled away and saw the corners of his mouth align in a small smile.

“She’s a stubborn one, our lass.”

“She is and she’s loyal and willing to give up everything to see her family happy. Just like someone else I know.” I ran my hands down his bare chest and pressed a kiss right over his heart. “She’s just like you, Jamie. In more ways than I can even describe. She may not be here but she knows the choice she made and wouldn’t regret it.”

“Mmmphm.” He grunted. I felt his hands cool on my buttocks as he reached for the base of my shift. “Are ye ready for it again, Sassenach? Another war?”

I nodded at him, pulling my shift above my head and tossing it on the floor. “The first time we tried to change history…. This time, we’re merely living through it. The only history I am worried about is ours, and the story we choose to write.”

“Come here.” He said, and I did. He may never see her but he would be on the right side of history this time- we would be on the right side of history this time- and leave a legacy to make our daughter proud.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank YOU for reading!


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